isn t freedom the next logical step for the contrabands? it is. preserving the union was lincoln s paramount priority. certainly that was true at the beginning of the war. and he pushed the issue of slavery down the line about as far as he could go, until his hand was forced. emancipating slaves is not a decision for a general to make. it s a decision for the president. i cannot emancipate the slaves. [ gasps ] elizabeth! careful with those pins. sorry, madam. it must have slipped. lincoln immediately rescinds general hunter s orders out of fear that he might lose the support of northern democrats and crucial border states like maryland. so, in fact, what you have is the president re-enslaving but lincoln firmly believes that the only way to end slavery and save the union is for emancipation to become a reality, in accordance with the
what it truly is a chance to be free. [ men shouting, cannons firing ] fort monroe is a union outpost in confederate territory defended by 4,500 men, including a zouave regiment, general benjamin butler.eral butler? outside the fort. please, sir. we re just looking for safe harbor. we ve escaped colonel mallory and the confederate army. i see. the three men that come in to butler, they happen to come in after virginia votes to secede. they don t come in the day before. cause if they d come in the day before, virginia s not a confederate state, not a secessionist state. virginia claims she s no longer part of our union. i suppose the law no longer holds water. these men are to be considered contraband of war.
mcclellan now has a chance to claim victory. all he has to do is send in his 20,000 reserve troops. we have them by the throat, general. [ gunfire ] we could send in the reserve and finish them. what do we know of lee s reinforcements? george mcclellan always worried a little too much about what the enemy might do. i will not send more men to die unless i have to, general franklin. and that s what happens at antietam. several times, subordinates urge him, now is the time to launch that final blow. but mcclellan s always thinking, what if things go wrong? just as he fails to act after intercepting lee s battle plan mcclellan again hesitates. despite the fact that he overwhelmingly outnumbers lee s force, mcclellan doesn t destroy robert e. lee and the army of northern virginia, and he is widely criticized for this. and particularly abraham lincoln was deeply disappointed.
butler understood that white southerners saw their slaves as property. for instance, they were being used to support the confederate war effort. their capture, their seizure and their retention was well within the laws of war. please, make yourself comfortable. right this way, boys. congress approved of what butler had done. they liked that solution. in august 1861, they pass a confiscation act. from there on in escaped slaves then were called contrabands. does this mean that. that we re free? that s not my part to say. it is for the president. despite his rank, benjamin butler has no strategic military experience, and is considered a disaster on the battlefield. but his tenacity as a lawyer and deft political mind
allow him to identify escaped slaves as contrabands of war. butler s controversial decision would eventually inspire thousands of slaves to cross union lines, creating a path for lincoln to entertain the idea of emancipation. butler s fort monroe doctrine has an immediate impact on the confederacy. when the union navy invades south carolina s sea islands plantation owners leave behind 10,000 slaves. these new contrabands begin to grow and harvest cotton and other crops for the union, and teachers from the north come to port royal to educate them. we did more than patrick henry. they seem to be taking to the letters real quick, general. once a man has knowledge, he ll not be satisfied unless he also has freedom. i want you to draft an order. if the president is too timid to make a stand, then i will. emancipation was happening in